Penn State men’s volleyball will play its third home and 19th total match of the season this Friday against Charleston. Yes, you read that correctly.

Despite Penn State’s 5-13 record, there’s still a chance to make the NCAA Tournament. Yes, you also read that correctly.

It has been one of the odder seasons for head coach Mark Pavlik and the Nittany Lions. After winning the EIVA and making an NCAA Tournament with a 23-7 record in 2024, this year’s team has been nowhere near as dominant but still has a realistic chance to win the EIVA and clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Nittany Lions, who have not lost a match in Rec Hall since 2023, will play six of their last eight matches of the regular season at home. After a much-needed bye week, the time to make a postseason push is now.

“I think the urgency is there, but in a very appropriate way,” Pavlik said. “I don’t think we’re trying to do more than we’re capable of doing.”

Penn State is coming off a week-long road trip where it played five matches against top-15 opponents. The Nittany Lions lost each match, but with a younger and less experienced team than in years past, Pavlik is looking to see what the team has learned.

“I think we’re saying the schedule that we play to this point has been a brutal one,” Pavlik said. “We’ve gone up against the best teams in the country. What have we learned? How can we apply that to the next four weekends that mean everything to us?”

Pavlik asked the same questions before the road trip and said he wanted to see scoring consistency and capitalizing on side-out opportunities. After the trip, Pavlik said he saw his team improve in passing and transition but still thought there were too many hitting errors.

Penn State sits fifth in the EIVA with a record of 2-2 but is only 1.5 games back from first place George Mason. The Nittany Lions also play three of the four teams above them in the standings, presenting them the opportunity to claim the first-place spot and host the EIVA Tournament. But Pavlik is still looking for more consistency and fewer errors on offense if this team wants to claim first place.

“We want to see the minimization of gross errors,” Pavlik said. “Let’s be smart with the ball when we can put it away. Let’s not give the other team easy points.”

Charleston is one of the teams above Penn State, with a conference record of 4-2. The Golden Eagles have the most points, assists, kills, and digs in the conference, coupled with three of the conference’s top-four kills leaders in Xander Bomert, Max Nissen, and Kai Cousins.

“If we can pass the ball well and if we can make good decisions setting, it’ll give us a chance to win sets off of it, but it’s not going to be easy,” Pavlik said.

Pavlik said his players used the bye last week to go home, catch up on some sleep, and get ahead of school work. But with the EIVA wide open and the opportunity to make a postseason push on the line, the Nittany Lions are taking things one match at a time.

“I think the guys are looking forward to being on the court saying, ‘All right, we’re rested, everything we’ve done is behind us. We’re still in total control of our destiny. Let’s see what we can do,'” Pavlik said.